David Weber Announces Honor Harrington Movie Deal

Yesterday, author David Weber posted an essay on his website, davidweber.net, announcing that a movie option deal had been made with a Hollywood studio to adapt his popular Honor Harrington series for the big screen. Weber stated that the movie, to be based on the first book in the series, On Basilisk Station, would the first of possible series films that would follow the storyline of the books.

Although Weber did not disclose names, dates, or financial details, his announcement was very detailed and enthusiastic. Weber stated that the producer and the studio are the same entity, and he described the movie studio  as “a cutting edge CGI/3-D studio… headed by people who have actually read the books, who like the characters, who know the characters, and who have [illustrated] their understanding of Honor’s character and the reason they’re excited about the project.” More importantly, Weber stated, the studio is “interested in the Honorverse and in the characters who live in it, and they clearly don’t see it as the opportunity to make one movie and then get out.”

In his post, Weber explained some of the reasons why he was optimistic about the deal. Aside from the studio’s familiarity with the books and desire to fully realize the Honorverse on screen, Weber announced that he had also been hired as a creative consultant and that he had participated in “fairly-intensive” video-conferences about the characters and the storyline, with he believes the studio is treating “with respect.” Weber also explained some probable changes to the series, including the possibility of eliminating or merging certain characters and adding more fleet combat in the first installment. Weber acknowledged that the task of adapting a literary work for the screen is tough, but, “When it works properly, what you get in the end is a movie which is faithful to the original but not identical to it. That’s what we’re looking at accomplishing at this point.”

Weber also discussed his desire to actually expand some roles to attract a high-caliber actor or actress. He cited shipping magnate Klaus Hauptman, lovable ne’er-do-well Horace Harkness, and Honor’s steward James MacGuiness as examples of roles that he’d want to expand in order to attract someone “really good.”

So when can we expect On Basilisk Station to hit theaters? Not for while, Weber said.

“Obviously, this is just the beginning of what will probably be about a five-year process to actually getting the picture released, assuming that everything goes well. Assuming we’re living in the real world, it will probably take just a teeny bit longer than that.”

I’m obviously thrilled at the possibility of seeing the Honorverse brought to life on the big screen. What do the rest of you think?